Eastern Madagascar - Madagascar - page 356

There's also some decent snorkelling off the peninsula behind the airport, and internet ac-
cess at the Boutique Orange.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Aye-Aye Island PARK
(night tours Ar20,000) The patron of Chez Roger also owns this small island in the middle
of the Mananara River and offers night tours including transport (car and pirogue) and
guide. The prize: caught in the beam of a flashlight, the aye-aye sits up in the leaves of a
palm tree digging out the meat from a coconut with its bizarre bony finger. Call Chez Ro-
ger ( 032 52 329 87) to book ahead.
Parc National de Mananara-Nord PARK
The very remote Parc National de Mananara-Nord (23,000 hectares) encompasses some of
the last remaining lowland rainforest in Madagascar. An additional 1000 hectares of off-
shore islets and their surrounding reefs are protected as a marine national park. The largest
of these islets is Nosy Atafana. While lemurs are not always seen by visitors, Mananara-
Nord contains indris, brown lemurs, ruffed lemurs and aye-ayes, and is the only known
habitat of the hairy-eared dwarf lemur. There is also a variety of geckos, including the en-
demic uroplatus and day geckos. Offshore there are dugong.
The MNP office ( 033 12 692 60, 033 12 768 97; [e-mail])
is in Sahasoa, about 30km south of Mananara. Come here first to arrange your visit. The
park entry fee is Ar10,000. Guide and porter fees start from Ar10,000/15,000 per half/full
day. Many guides speak some English. They will print out a map upon request.
The park has two main circuits, one terrestrial and the other marine. The terrestrial cir-
cuit begins 6km south of the park office by foot. It takes two hours to get there, two to
do the circuit, and another two to get back. The marine circuit includes a trip to Nosy
Atafana, and costs an additional Ar120,000-150,000 for boat and fuel. The cost per person
thus declines with the size of the group (max eight). For any trip in the park, you'll need to
be self-sufficient with food and water, and if trekking, in good shape. Camping is Ar8000
per day. A limited amount of camping equipment is for hire at the park office.
Mananara-Nord saw only 100 tourists in 2011. This region is not only difficult to reach,
but the park itself is not great value. The two-hour terrestrial circuit requires four hours of
hiking to get there and back. The marine circuit is a quick 15 minutes to Nosy Atafana, but
the circuit is only an hour - not long for the price.
If you are coming from Maroantsetra, the large, mountainous and lush Nosy Mangabe
(700 hectares) offers a lot more than the small and flat Nosy Atafana (23 hectares).